Category Archives: Lest We Forget

On this day in American history, August 26, 1874 — Mob of 400 Lynches Sixteen Black Men Kidnapped from Tennessee Jail

Posted on August 26, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On August 26, 1874, sixteen African American men were held in the Gibson County Jail in Trenton, Tennessee, transferred from Picketsville, a neighboring town where they’d been arrested and accused of shooting at two white men. Around 2:00 a.m. that … Continue reading →

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On this day in American history, August 25, 1956 — Montgomery, Alabama, Home of Bus Boycott Supporter Bombed

Posted on August 25, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On the night of April 25, 1956, several sticks of dynamite were thrown into the yard of Pastor Robert Graetz’s Montgomery, Alabama, home where they exploded, breaking the home’s front windows and damaging the front door. A young white minister … Continue reading →

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On this day in American history, August 24, 1923 — Black Man Lynched in Jacksonville, Florida

Posted on August 24, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On August 24, 1923, a 34-year-old black farmhand Ben Hart was killed based on suspicion that he was a “Peeping Tom” who had that morning peered into a young white girl’s bedroom window near Jacksonville, Florida. According to witnesses, approximately … Continue reading →

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On this day in American history, August 23, 1989 — Black Teen Murdered by White Mob in Brooklyn, New York

Posted on August 23, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On August 23, 1989, 16-year-old Yusef Hawkins and three friends went to the predominately white Bensonhurt section of Brooklyn, New York, to inquire about a used Pontiac for sale. On their way through the neighborhood, the three black boys encountered … Continue reading →

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On this day in American history, August 22, 1905 — Whites Riot After Black Man Enters Pittsburgh Restaurant

Posted on August 22, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

According to newspaper reports, an African-American man named Charles Julius Miller, and an unnamed African-American woman entered Café Neapolitan, a Pittsburgh restaurant, on August, 22, 1905. The couple was immediately refused service and ordered to leave. When Miller refused to … Continue reading →

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On this day in American history, August 21, 1831 — Nat Turner Leads Enslaved Black People in Virginia Rebellion

Posted on August 21, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Nat Turner was an enslaved black man who lived in Southampton, Virginia. By many accounts, Turner was a very religious man who ministered to fellow enslaved blacks as well as whites. Turner studied the Bible fervently and often claimed to … Continue reading →

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On this day in American history, August 18, 1995 — NAACP Protests Uncovering of “Faithful Slave” Monument

Posted on August 18, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On August 18, 1995, the NAACP sent a letter of protest to the Department of the Interior to protest the uncovering of a decades-old monument in Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. In October 1859, white abolitionist John Brown led a raid … Continue reading →

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On this day in American history, August 17, 1965 — Days of Riots End in Watts

Posted on August 17, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On the evening of August 11, 1965, a police officer pulled over brothers Marquette and Ronald Frye in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. A crowd gathered to watch and quickly grew as officers questioned the young men. Police … Continue reading →

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On this day in American history, August 16, 2006 — Florida Attorney General Names Suspects in 55-Year-Old Civil Rights Murders

Posted on August 16, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On the evening of December 25, 1951, a bomb exploded at the Florida home of Harry and Harriette Moore, killing the couple on their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. Harry Moore’s mother and the couple’s daughter were asleep in adjoining rooms but … Continue reading →

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On this day in American history, August 14, 1908 — Race Riot Erupts in Springfield, MO

Posted on August 14, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On August 14, 1908, a mob of white citizens gathered at the local jail in Springfield, Illinois, planning to lynch two black men, George Richardson, who was accused of raping a white woman, and Joe James, accused of raping a … Continue reading →

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